Will a 2001 bmw 330ci convertible with110,000 miles be worth it?
Asked by djb50 Jun 17, 2013 at 10:22 AM about the 2001 BMW 3 Series 330Ci Convertible RWD
Question type: General
Asking price is 7500, 110,000 miles. I would like it to last at least 2 more years. The daily commuting will be about 15 miles per day plus a few trips of about 700 miles per year? Would like to give to my 17 year old next year, again to drive mostly locally. If all is in good working order, is it worth it?
4 Answers
Keep driving and enjoying it. If your E46 is in good shape, then you should be good as for the price, provided your ride is mechanically sound. Convertibles almost always command more than their book value due to the emotional aspect of the purchase. My sisters was recently totaled due to a pickup backing into/over the front end. She had over 180K on it and settled for $6800, with a good deal of wear and tear.
Sounds like a good deal. Make sure you get the vehicle inspected by a shop that knows BMW to make sure it doesn't have major issues. Especially for the subframe cracking issue.
The anchilies heal of this engine is the water pump, it had a plastic impeller that could crack and the cooling system would then fail, which causes the aluminum head to warp and your done... If the water pump has been replaced with a new steal one, then the car should be rock solid with basic tweeks. The part is about 120 with a belt, and the labor is about three hours... The other thing is to look for oil leaks around the valve cover, the oil filter houseing, and the oil pan. the seals get brittle over time and can leak (regardless of miles) The parts are cheap, but the labor for the oil pan is alot, the other two are gaskets are easy to swap. if these are good and the oil is clean with no oil smells, then the car shoud be great for years to come. For under 1k worth of work it will be mechanically new, just broken in... Rock solid... Now the real question is how many speeding tickets will your 17 year old get in that mustang killer?
BMW stopped using the plastic based impeller in the 2000 model year. The after market steel versions fail too. Mine had the a bearing freeze up and came apart. That is not the case here.